Engraving machine



Sept. 9, 1941- E. A. COOKE 2,255,699

ENGRAVING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. I.

hwanl'or E .A .COOKE p 9, 1941- E. A. COOKE 2,255,699

ENGRAVING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1940 25heets-Sheet 2 Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig 8 Inventor EA .CQOKE Attarn eus Patented Sept. 9, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFlCE Application April 3, 1940, Serial No. 327,719 In Great Britain October 20, 1938' 3 Claims. (CI. 90-62) This invention relates to engraving machines of the kind in which the desired engraving, comprising lettering or other impressions which can be built up from standard elements arranged in ordered sequence, is obtained by scale reproduction from copy arranged in a copyholder. Hitherto copy has usually comprised small thin metal plates, each embodying a letter or other character and having two bevelled edges engaging in a dovetailed groove in the copyholder. Such an arrangement involves not only the use of relatively expensive material, such as steel or brass, for the copy in order to provide adequate strength and durability in thin strips, but also relatively high manufacturing costs owing to the necessity of milling the bevels on the copy and the dovetailed groove or grooves in the copyholder.

The present invention has for its object to provide improved engraving machine copy, which can be produced in large quantities relatively cheaply and will yet have the necessary strength to withstand repeated handling and the wear of the machine stylus.

A further object of the invention is to pro- Vide a copy element which is particularly suitable for use with the copyholder forming the subject of my application Serial No. 301,292, from which the present application has been divided.

According to the invention an engraving machine copy element is of triangular cross-section and embodies a character or the like on at least one of its faces. Preferably the cross-section is in the form of a right-angled isosceles triangle, in which case the two equal faces can each bear a character.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figures 1 and 2 show two forms of copy element according to the invention,

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate, in plan and side elevation respectively, a copyholder having copy elements according to the invention in position thereon,

Figure 5 is a section on the line VV of Figure 3, and

Figures 6, '7 and 8 show respectively three further arrangements of the copy elements in the holder.

The copy elements may be made of metal or of other material such as synthetic resin, or partly of metal and partly of such other material. They may be manufactured in a variety of ways. Thus, for example, blanks for the elements may be produced by cutting appropriate lengths from extruded rod or tube of the desired triangular section, such blanks having formed on them, for example by engraving or stamping, the appropriate character or characters. In the case of elements of right-angled isosceles section, one example of which is shown in Figure 1, the two equal faces F, F may bear identical characters or similar characters of different size, or different characters, for example the same letter in capital and in lower case. In Figure 2 each copy element has an equilateral triangular section which afiords three faces F F and F for bearing characters.

Instead of forming the copy elements by cutting appropriate lengths from a rod or tube of thedesired triangular section the elements may be made individually or in the form' of rods or tubes for subsequent cutting, by pressing or casting or moulding or rolling, and in this case it will often be convenient to impress the character or characters on the elements during the manufacturing process. The method 'of manufacture will be chosen to suit the material used. It may be convenient in some instances to embody each character on a small thin plate, for example of metal, such plate then being incorporated by a moulding process in a block of, say, synthetic resin of the appropriate sectional shape.

It will be appreciated that by such methods of manufacture it is possible to produce copy economically in large quantities in a form which will not only be convenient to use but will also be robust enough to withstand the stresses of handling and of use in the machine.

In Figures 3 and 4 copy elements according to the invention are shown in position in a copyholder as described in the specification of my patent application Serial No. 301,292. The copyholder comprises a horizontal framework G carried by means of a socket member G engaging a vertical rod G to which it can be clamped, by a grub screw G in any desired rotational position, the rod G2 being clamped in any desired position of adjustment on the engraving machine indicated generally at G To this end the rod G is locked in the desired longitudinal position of adjustment in a carrier G by means of a grub screw G the carrier G being in turn locked in the desired position of adjustment along a guide G by a ball handle G The horizontal framework G comprises horizontal bars H rigidly held together by cross-connections H H the cross-connection I-I carrying the socket member G There are are thus formed between the bars H channels H for the reception of the copy elements, for example as described with reference to Figure 1, the number of channels H depending upon the number of copy elements desired. V

Within each channel H and to one side thereof a guide rod J of circular section extends from end to end, each rod J being secured to the framework G by studs J so that the rod lies in one corner of the corresponding channel H and. provides an unobstructed cylindrical guide surface for the copy elements; The opposite face H of the channel is machined to provide a vertical plane guide surface of sufficient height to constitute an abutment for one of the equal faces F,

H which are made accurately parallel to one an-;

other, is chosen to suit the size of the copy elements so that these can be dropped into the chan- I nel H and will rest therein each with its 'hypotenuse face bearing on the rod J and making a line contact therewith, and its face F lying flat against the corresponding guide surface H The remaining faces F of the copy elements will thus lie horizontally in proper alignment with one another and just above the top surface of the framework G, as clearly shown in Figures 4 and 5. The copy I elements are longitudinally held against displacement by means of end clamps J on .the rods, spacers (not shown) being inserted between the copy elements if desired.

It will be appreciated that the above arrangement may be modified in various ways. For example, with a copy element as described with reference to Figure 1 the second guide, constituted in the above arrangement by a circular guide rod, may be formed by machining part of the frame G itself. Thus, in the example shown in Figure 6, the guide K is convexly curved in section to give line contact with the hypotenuse face of each copy element, whilst in Figure 7 the guide K is constituted by the edge between two surfaces K K the surface K being parallel to the guide surface H whilst the surface K is horizontal and lies at a level somewhat below the top surface of the framework G. Again, the second guide may consist of a plane surface inclined at or or other appropriate angle to the first guide surface H When copy elements of equilateral triangular section, as described with reference to Figure 2, are employed the firstguide surface will be suitably inclined to give a horizontal operative copy surface. For example, as shown in Figure 8, the first guide surface H is inclined to the horizontal whilst the second guide is provided by the angle H formed in the framework so as to give line contact with the coope rating faces of the copy elements. The use of an equilateral triangular section has the advantages of being somewhat less susceptible to accidental displacement and of' aflording three faces for bearing characters.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. For use in engraving machines, a copy element of triangular cross-section having three flat faces at least one of which bears a character or the like and two end faces at right angles to the said three faces for bearing against adjacent copy elements.

2. For use in engraving machines, a copy element of equilateral triangular cross-section having three flat faces at least one of which bears a character or the like and two end faces at right angles to the said three faces for bearing against adjacent copy elements.

3. For use in engraving machines, a copy element of rectangular isosceles triangular crosssection having three fiat faces at least one of which bears a character or the like and two end bearing against adjacent copy elements.

ERNEST ALBERT COOKE. 

